Buried Alive
by lovetowrite390
Summary: UPDATED One night after work Tony is abducted and beaten by someone. Then he is buried alive. The team finds him, but when they dig him up, is he the same Tony he always has been? What kind of PTSD will he have? Major TIVA. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: One night after work, Tony is abducted and beaten by someone. Then, he is buried alive. The team activates the GPS in his cell phone and finds him, but when they dig him up, is he the same Tony he always has been? What kind of PTSD will he have from this? TIVA…_

**Chapter 1**

The day had been normal for Tony; a crime scene, a body, all the usual. He sighed and walked out of work and into the parking garrage. Before he could get to his car however, he felt a large hand cover his mouth with something to knock him out and before he knew it, he was no longer awake.

The room where he was sitting was cold and dark. The man didn't show his face, he wore a ski mask to hide behind. "Where is it?" The man shouted.

"Where is what?" Tony replied, confused as ever.

"Don't mess with me!" The man shouted. "I know you know what I want!"

"If you told me I might be of more help, but I have no idea what you want." Tony replied.

"I want access to all of the files in NCIS, NOW!" The man shouted.

Tony became silent, afraid to make the man angry. He knew he couldn't do that; that it would put everyone at NCIS in danger.

"That't what I thought." The man frowned and kicked Tony in the gut. "Spill!" He shouted.

Tony didn't break. He just kept letting the guy beat up on him. Finally, it seemed the man was bored. He covered Tony's mouth with the same stuff that knocked him out before and Tony fell asleep.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ziva sat at her desk silently. She felt anxious today, something was off. She needed to tell Gibbs that Tony's car was in the garrage but he was not here.

"Gibbs!" She caught his attention. "Something is not right. Tony's car is in the garrage but he is not here. He is more than fifteen minutes late. We need to find him."

"I will check the bathroom and see if he is in there or something. If not, I will have McGee trace the GPS in his phone and we will find him." Gibbs told her.

She nodded. "Thank you Gibbs." And she went back to her desk and waited.

A few minutes later, Gibbs came back from the bathroom and shouted for McGee to trace the GPS in Tony's phone.

"Where does it trace to?" Gibbs asked.

"A field about twenty miles or so from here." McGee replied.

"What would Tony be doing at a field?" Ziva asked confused.

"Good question. No one is dead today, so let's investigate this." Gibbs led the team out of the office and to the field.

McGee had a little device that showed the exact location of the GPS, it was a little red dot that was flashing on the screen. "Here it is!" He shouted.

Everyone came running. "I don't see the phone." Ziva replied. "Or Tony."

"I think he is buried." Gibbs said frowning.

Ziva's eyes got wide. "Let's get a team out here now! He could be dead!" Her voice was panicked.

Gibbs nodded and called in a team to dig up the site. Shortly after, one of the shovels hit something hard and solid. It was a coffin.

The team that had been digging brought the coffin up and Gibbs opened it up. Inside was Tony, naked as the day he was born and scared out of his mind. Gibbs dropped a blanket inside and gave Tony a moment to cover up. Then, he fully removed the lid of the coffin and helped Tony out.

The team looked relieved, but Tony looked like a different man. Ziva walked up to him and embraced him gently, causing him to feel emotional, vulnerable.

He didn't cry, but he did fall to his knees right in front of her and bury his face into her waist. He closed his eyes and relaxed. The coffin had made his body stiff. There was no room to move in the coffin; none at all.

He loved the way she felt, so soft, gentle and warm. He didn't want to let go of her, but he knew that soon Gibbs would separate them and make him take the ambulance to the hospital.

"Ziva," Gibbs's voice was soft.

Ziva turned to look at him but did not move away from Tony. "Take the ambulance with him." Gibbs told her. "Don't leave his side until I get a full account of what happened to him from him."

Ziva nodded, relieved that Gibbs had not ordered her to leave Tony. Tony stood, his knees hurting from lack of blood flow to them for such a long amount of time. Ziva led him to the ambulance and sat with him until they got to the hospital.

A doctor came and looked at his bruises. There were so many, but he didn't have any broken bones, just bruises. "He's lucky." The doctor told Ziva, who was sitting in the same room as Tony. Tony, however, was lying curled up in the bed looking exhausted and afraid to actually sleep.

"If I fall asleep, I will wake up here right?" Tony asked.

"Yes." The doctor replied.

Tony nodded and closed his eyes, letting himself finally sleep a real sleep, not a drug induced sleep like the evil man who had kidnapped him had given him.

The doctor spoke to Ziva. "He is going to probably suffer from some pretty bad PTSD after this." She explained. "He will need therapy, and here is the best doctor I can recommend." She handed Ziva a card. "I will give him some pain pills. Otherwise, I think he will be fine. We will keep him overnight for observation."

Ziva nodded and the doctor left. She sat on the spare bed by Tony and fell asleep too.

**XXXXXXX**

Tony watched Ziva sleep; she was so relaxed. He took her hand in both of his and she began to stir. Her eyes opened and she saw him. "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." He smiled. "Sleep well?" He asked.

"Yes thank you." She leaned up. "How about you?" She asked.

"Good." He replied, joining her on the bed.

"So, whenever you are ready to talk about what happened to you, Gibbs wants to hear it all and have it on record."

Tony frowned. "I don't want to talk about it." He looked glum.

"Okay." Ziva replied.

"Gibbs won't just say okay." Tony was still frowning.

"You're right." Ziva replied. "But if you want, I can be in the room when you tell your story. Do I relax you?" Ziva asked him.

"Yes." Tony replied, lacing his fingers with her's. "Right now, you are the only person in the whole world who doesn't seem to stress me out. You relax me fully."

Ziva smiled. "Most people wouldn't say that about me." She told him.

"Well," he began. "I am not most people. I am a very strange man. Some people might call me a fairly normal man, at least, before I got buried alive I was fairly normal, but not since…I had time to rethink some things while I was in that coffin. You know, I was awake in there for three hours." He told her. "And in three hours, I decided that I want to get married and stay married and never cheat on her, not ever, and I want to be a father, and I want to get old with someone, and I want to do so much before my body seriously will be going six feet under." His fingers were still laced with her's.

"So," she began. "The doctor wants you to see a psychiatrist. Are you up for that or not?" She asked him.

"Sure, why not?" Tony asked. He smiled at Ziva and she smiled back. She was liking this side of Tony.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ziva was going to talk to the psychiatrist first, before Tony went in there. She left Tony outside, but Tony felt like he couldn't handle being alone for any length of time.

He was stressing. He paced the floor, and when Ziva opened it, he ran into the room and stood in the middle, staring at the doctor. "Well, it looks like we are going to be seeing both of you at the sessions." The doctor smiled. "I think it's best if you stay with him Ziva."

"I agree." Tony's wide panicked eyes spoke volumes and he nodded.

"Shall we begin?" She asked, showing them over to a sofa.

Ziva sat down and Tony laid down. He had his head in her lap and was avoiding eye contact with the doctor.

"What relaxes you about Ziva?" The doctor asked him.

"Everything." Tony replied.

"Be more specific." The doctor ordered.

Tony sighed. "She is very calm." Tony replied.

"And?" The doctor pressed.

"Physically, she is soft." He added. "Her hands, her in general. Her face. She is not a hard person."

"What else?" The doctor asked.

"She smells good." Tony added. "Like ginger and the ocean…it used to be that she smelled like roses, but then, when we both got back from being gone for four months, her scent changed."

"Your very observant. Are you sure your not in love with Ziva to some extent?" The doctor asked.

"To some extent I know I am in love with her." Tony replied. "And of course, there is that fear that one day I might lose her. But our boss, Gibbs, he has this rule about dating, and we are co-workers and-"

"Let's say Gibbs didn't have this rule." The doctor began. "Would you have dated Ziva by now if the rule never existed?" She asked.

"Yes." Tony replied. "If she would have me, I would have probably married her by now." Tony told her. Ziva's eyes became wide and she smiled.

"Well then, her personality type is your type." The doctor concluded.

"Yes it is." Tony smiled.

Ziva had just been listening, but from what she gathered, Tony was in love with her.

"So, when do you think you will be ready to do things alone again, without Ziva? And when will you be ready to talk about everything that happened to you?" The doctor asked.

"All in good time doc, all in good time." Tony smiled. "But today, I will tell you what happened. We will need a tape recorder, because I don't want to relive this ever again except for now."

The doctor nodded, got out the tape recorder, and Tony began.

"I was walking out to my car, and I felt a large hand cover my mouth with something that knocked me out. I woke up and I was in a warehouse of some sort. I couldn't believe someone would do this to me. This man, he wanted into NCIS's files. He wanted me to give him the password to access all of our info. When I didn't, he began to beat me. He knocked me out again and then he stuffed me into the casket. The next thing I know, I was awake six feet under."

"Did you see his face?" The doctor asked.

"No, he wore a ski mask. But I do know where he took me, and I will take Gibbs there; but only if Ziva comes too."

"Of course." Ziva replied.

"I think we made good progress, both with our feelings and with finding out what happened to you that night. Let's pick this up tomorrow at say, noon?" The doctor told them.

Ziva and Tony nodded and stood up. "Good." She smiled. "I will see you both then."


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for all the reviews. Here is chapter 3!!_

**Chapter 3**

**All Things Happen For a Reason**

"Do you really love me?" Ziva asked as they left the therapist's office.

"Would I lie to my therapist?" He asked her.

"Do not answer a question with a question!" She ordered.

Tony smiled and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers like he usually did. "Yes Ziva, I do love you." He admitted. "Didn't you just hear me say that to my therapist?" He teased.

"Really?" She stopped and Tony stopped and stared at her.

"Yes, really! Why is it so hard for you to believe?" He asked.

"Jeanne for starters. I was so jealous and you never even noticed, you never even cared!" Ziva was frustrated.

"That's my past." Tony replied. "I didn't realize how much I loved you until my life was almost taken away completely and I would never see you again. While I was down there, you were it, you were the only person on my mind. No one else…I want you in my present and in my future. I'm not going backwards Z…Not ever!" He had his hands on the curves of her waist and she had her arms wrapped around his neck. "I…Love...You!" He basically spelled it out for her.

"I love you too." She replied.

"That's my Ziva." She brought her lips up to his and they kissed, short and sweet and in the parking garage.

Ziva drove and then asked Tony on the way if he wanted to go to his place or her's. "Are we going to…you know?" Tony dared to ask.

"Now that you have asked, no." Ziva replied.

"Ouch." Tony looked pained.

Ziva smiled. "Your so sexy when you smile." Tony told her. "Your sexy all the time, but when you smile, you radiate."

"You might get something after all…" Ziva hinted.

"Oh yeah. But I meant that…Weather or not I get something tonight…I mean it. You're the most beautiful creature ever to walk the face of the Earth."

"I know you mean that."

"Damn right I do!" They pulled up to Ziva's house and stepped out of the car. Before it got too late, Tony called Gibbs and told him that he remembered where the man had taken him and was going to show Gibbs the next day around two or so.

Ziva opened the door to the apartment and led Tony inside. "Is there anything I can get you?" She asked.

Tony sat on the couch and she stood in front of him. "Just this." He pulled her down onto him and began kissing her.

"Mmmm…Just that huh?" She asked.

"Yes…" Tony once again worked his way to her neck, and then began undoing her blouse. "Unless you want me to stop?" He asked.

"No!" Ziva protested, pulling him back to her.

"Good." He smiled and continued. He took in ever curve of her body, every inch of it. No way in the world was he ever going to take for granted this act that they were indulging in ever again. When it was with the right person, like now, it was the most amazing gift…

After he had kissed every inch of her and they had made love, they just lay there, all tangeled up in each other. "Wow!" Ziva was in shock. "That was fantastic."

"It was." Tony rested his head right below her chin. "I want to do that all day every day."

"I'm sure you do." Ziva replied.

"Don't you?" He asked.

"It would get old if we did it that much! We have to change things up." She smiled. "Like…How about…Dinner and then we do it again?" She asked. "We can't always do it right after the shrink!"

"Well, the shrink did schedule us for a 5pm meeting." Tony pointed out. "Speaking of which, isn't it dinner time?" He asked. "I am starved. We should order a pizza or take out or something!"

"Good idea!" Ziva agreed. They quickly dressed and ordered some take out. Ziva went to pick it up and got home with it quickly. "So," Ziva smiled as she walked in holding the food. "What should we start with? Sweet and sour chicken? Kung pow? Tofu?"

"Let's whip it all out and try some of each." Tony smiled, joining her at the table.

"Let's." She agreed, opening the boxes and digging in herself. Tony followed and they began eating. "You avoided the tofu!" She pointed out. "You have to try it! It is so good." She put some on a fork and stuck it in Tony's face.

"Oh alright." He took a bit of it. "Fake meat, but its not bad." He smiled.

"I got Tony to admit that something vegitarian wasn't that bad!" Ziva teased him. She straddled his lap facing him and kissed him passionately.

"I could so get used to this." Tony smiled.

Ziva wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. "Get used to it. Your stuck with me." She whispered in his ear.

He smiled. "I wouldn't want to be stuck with anyone else."

They put the food away and continued what they had started earlier, only this time, they made use of the bedroom. The next day was going to be a long one, and they both knew it.

"So," Ziva began, as she looked that the list of activities Tony and she had scheduled for the day. "We go into work until 11:30, when we leave to go to the therapist again. Then, we have to take Gibbs to the warehouse that the bad guy took you to at two and then we will probably go back into work, do a little research and I was thinking we would come back here tonight." Tony was still in bed, and considering that it only took him about five to ten minutes to get ready, it wasn't a big deal; they still had plenty of time!

Ziva was sitting on the edge of the bed, she too wasn't dressed or ready. "Yeah," Tony agreed, kissing her shoulder. "That sounds like a plan." He smiled and wrapped her in his arms. "Wanna' take a shower?" He asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She copied him. They went and took a shower and then got ready. Ziva realized that Tony only had the clothes from the day before and they stopped off at his place on the way so that he could change.

They made it to work right on time, and Gibbs noticed but didn't say anything. "Morning Tony, Ziva. How are you both doing?"

"Fine." They said in unison.

"Good." Gibbs smiled. He was glad to see Tony in such good shape after all he had been through. Gibbs wasn't blind though, and he was sure it had something to do with Ziva…As in Ziva was what was making Tony want to live right now. She was giving him purpose, drive. Most men would have become completely depressed after being buried alive, but for some reason, Tony was dealing with it rather well. With the help of Ziva and the therapist, he was feeling so much better than he was expected to feel.

"So," Gibbs approached Tony. "You saw where the man took you?" He asked.

"Yeah," Tony began. "I recognized it at least. But you would have to get a warrant to search each of the warehouses, but yes, he put me in one of them and locked it so I couldn't get out. I remember that…Trying to escape, he kicked me, his shoes," Tony was recounting this pretty well, details were coming to him quickly.

"Shoes?" Gibbs questioned.

Tony's head was starting to hurt. Ziva took his hand and encouraged him to continue. "They were steel tipped…Have Abby gather some pictures of various different brands and I will point out which ones this guy had. Unless he purchased them used, which they looked pretty new to me, we might be able to find him through receipts." Tony smiled a half grin at Gibbs. "How'd I do?" He asked.

"Good job." Gibbs replied. "You did good."

Tony beamed and then sat down at his desk. "My head is pounding." He said just loud enough that only Ziva could hear what he said.

"Was it because you had to remember?" She asked him.

"I think so." Tony replied, rubbing his forehead.

Ziva waited for Gibbs to go down to see Abby and then she took over the rubbing of Tony's forehead. Tony loosened up and relaxed fully.

"Better?" Ziva asked, as she stopped rubbing.

"Much." Tony replied, smiling at her. "I don't know how you do it."

She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and went back to work before Gibbs could catch them. Shortly afterward, Abby had the pictures of the boots and she showed Tony.

He looked at each picture carefully. "It was this one." Tony pointed at a picture of a black boot with a steel toe.

"Your sure?" Abby asked.

"Positive." He replied.

"Alright! I will get receipts from all the vendors." Abby smiled and walked off. Before she made it to the elevator she stopped and turned around. "Oh, and, I am so glad you are okay Tony, we were all very worried, I was just at the lab…"

"Thank you." Tony smiled. "I am glad to be okay and alive and all is well."

Abby nodded and walked off. For whatever reason, it was awkward.

At the therapist, Tony right away laid down the same way he had the last time. "I see you like to lay down like that." The doctor observed right away.

"Yeah," Tony grinned. "She's a good pillow…But mostly, I hate sitting up straight. I get to do it all day at work when we don't have a case, and, quite honestly, I don't want to have to sit up straight if I don't have to."

The doctor made a note of that in her files and continued. "So, are you feeling well?" She asked Tony.

"Much better." He smiled. "But I still don't like to be alone. My mind has gone back to that whole 'buddy system' way of thinking that it was in back when I was a child because of what happened. When I was alone…That's when it happened…I should have taken someone with me…"

"And you know that now." The doctor told him. "You have grown because of your experience, and not just in that way. When you came to me the first time, you admitted that you loved your partner. Would you have ever had the courage to do that had you not been buried alive?" She asked.

"No, I guess I probably would have never told her." Tony admitted.

"And then where would you be right now? Still watching her from far away, wanting her but never letting her know?"

"Most likely." Tony agreed.

"So, would you say, that although it was bad, horrible even, what happened to you, but because it happened to you, you learned from it and grew from it and became a a better man because of it?" She asked.

"I guess yes, that I would have to agree with that. Because I was buried alive I realized what I wanted in life, I realized that I wanted someone to spend my life with, I realized that I wanted children, I realized so much, and that would never have happened had I not been buried alive."

Ziva was looking down at Tony lovingly as she combed her fingers through his hair. "Wow," he looked shocked.

"Think about it." The doctor told him. "All things happen for a reason…"

The session ended and Tony and Ziva stood up and left, scheduling another noon appointment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!! REVIEW!!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all the reviews

_Thank you for all the reviews. Here is chapter 4!_

**Chapter 4**

**Where it All Happened/The Mind is a Scary Thing**

Tony led the team out to the site where everything had happened. He couldn't believe he remembered, but Gibbs had gotten the warrant and they were going to search all of the different storage units.

The first one they opened only had junk in it. Someone's old computer, a desk, a chair, and so on; nothing of value at all! The next one had animal cages without animals in them. Finally, they stumbled across the empty warehouse that Tony had been held in.

There was a chair in the middle and a table that had rope, tape, and a gag on it. Tony thought back to the night he had been taken. It seemed that the man had gone easy on him by not using any of that stuff.

He gulped and gripped Ziva's hand so hard she thought it would fall off. "Loosen up your grip." She whispered to him. He nodded and complied.

"Is this where you were held?" Gibbs asked.

Tony nodded. "Think you can lift any prints?" He asked. "The man was not being careful or anything, he didn't wear gloves."

"I think we can." Gibbs replied.

"Sounds good." Tony replied. "Do you think he took anyone else here?" Tony asked, curious as to if anyone else had been here and had been tortured like he had.

"I don't know." Gibbs replied. "Quick question," Gibbs began. "Say that we do find a suspect Tony, would you be able to identify his voice?" He asked.

"Yes." Tony replied confidently. "I would know that creepy voice anywhere."

"Good." Gibbs smiled. "Let's start dusting for finger prints." Tony was about to get to work when Gibbs told him not to. "You cant work this case Tony, it involved you."

Tony frowned. "Then what can I do boss?" He asked.

"Go home, get some rest, relax." Gibbs ordered.

"I can't." Tony replied. "I can't relax alone. I tried once, I was very tense."

"When did you try?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, the night after the hospital released me." He replied.

"And you didn't like being alone?" Gibbs asked.

"Hated it." Tony replied shaking his head. "It's a horrible feeling."

Gibbs nodded. "And because of the new medication you are on you cant drive anywhere anyway."

Tony frowned and nodded. "There is that…"

"Well, your on water duty." Gibbs ordered. "Fill up the giant container with water and get the cups out of the trunk and your set. And then, when the water is gone, fill it up again."

Tony frowned. "That is just harsh boss." He shook his head and got to work. As he was going around the side of the building, something caught his attention. "Boss, take a look at this!" He shouted. Gibbs came over and looked where Tony was pointing. "Tire tracks." Tony explained. "And they are large enough that they could belong to a truck. If there is pine in the back of the truck, then that means we have our guy." Tony explained.

"Nice work DiNozzo." Gibbs smiled. "Now go get the water."

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Ziva told Gibbs. "He has literally been to Hell and back recently."

"I know," Gibbs replied. "But I am just trying to keep this case professional and not compromise our case at all."

"And I understand that." Ziva replied.

"Good." Gibbs nodded and walked back to the crime scene to see what prints he could find.

Tony came back with the water and set it up in an area that wouldn't be too close to where any evidence might be. Something came back to Tony right then. "The wall." He whispered.

He went running into the warehouse and pointed to the wall where he had seen the man lean. "Right here." He pointed for Ziva to dust it. "The man leaned against it and…"

"Bingo!" Gibbs smiled. "A full hand print."

"How did you remember that?" Ziva asked him.

"I was looking at my hand and it just came back to me that the man's hand had been there." Tony explained.

"Nice work DiNozzo." Gibbs said again.

"Thank you boss." Tony smiled and then walked back to where he had been setting up the water.

Later that day, Abby ran the finger prints. "Says here that the man is Frank Conners. Six foot three, two hundred and twenty pounds, served in the Marines for a short time before getting discharged. Not a whole lot here. He was never arrested or anything." She read.

"Thanks Abby." Gibbs said into his phone. "I need a search warrant for his truck and house. Let's get those first and then we will get him in for a voice test with Tony."

"Got it boss." Abby replied, hanging up and going to see if she couldn't talk Jeffries into getting them the warrants. He got them taken care of quickly and as Gibbs walked in, Abby handed him the papers.

"Thank you!" Gibbs smiled at her and then up at Jeffries who was watching them all closely.

"Gibbs, come up here." Jeffries ordered Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded and made his way up to the office. "Yes?" Gibbs asked.

"Why was DiNozzo there?" Jeffries asked.

"He had to show us where the location was. And without him, we wouldn't have had two very important pieces of evidence. So be glad he came."

"I just don't want our case being compromised." Jeffries told him.

"I understand that." Gibbs replied. "Tony sat on the sidelines; I didn't let him do anything."

Jeffries nodded. "Okay," Jeffries told him. "But I don't want him or Ziva with you tomorrow. They are both in this thing emotionally."

Gibbs nodded. "Then I should take McGee to search the house and truck?" He asked.

"That would be best." Jeffries replied.

"Okay, thank you." Gibbs nodded and then left.

"Tony, Ziva," Gibbs called them. They both walked up to him. "You are both off of the case because Jeffries feels you are both too emotionally vested in it. McGee, you will be with me tomorrow when we search the suspect's car and house. Tony, when I get the man in custody I will have you come and do a voice test. Otherwise, your all dismissed for today. Nice work team."

Tony nodded to himself. He had seen this coming. That was the thing with NCIS though; if you became too emotionally vested in anything, you were off the case. But he saw Jeffries point.

Ziva drove them back to her place. "You did great today." She told him.

"Thanks." Tony replied. "So did you."

"Well, it was you that remembered where the hand print was and noticed the tire tracks." She told him.

"And you made the mold of the tire tracks and dusted for finger prints." Tony pointed out.

Ziva smiled. "I believe we make a great team."

"So do I…" Tony smiled and they walked up to the apartment and did what they do best…Other than piecing together crime scenes.

As Tony slept soundly, his mind began to recall every little detail about the place. He began to remember little things, things he never would have thought of while he was awake. The dragon tattoo on the man's arm, the fact that the man was certainly white and no other race, the fact that he had bluish green eyes; all of these things were now apparent to Tony. He shot up in bed and reached for a pen and paper that were sitting on Ziva's nightstand.

"What is it?" She asked, stirring from her slumber.

"Details." He replied, writing down everything he had just remembered.

"The man was white, had a tattoo, and bluish green eyes?" Ziva stated, reading the paper.

"Yes," Tony began, taking the paper and pen back. "And the tattoo was of a dragon and on his lower left arm." Tony clarified both to Ziva and on the paper.

"Okay." Ziva nodded, a bit spooked. "Why didn't you remember that sooner?" She asked.

"The mind is a scary thing." Tony replied. "There are things I blocked out until my mind thought back to them tonight."

"Your right," Ziva agreed. "The mind is a scary thing."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!! THANKS!! **_


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to those who reviewed

_Thank you to those who reviewed! Here is the next chapter._

**Chapter 5**

**A Day Off**

Tony and Ziva woke up at their usual times, but both knew they didn't have to go in and go to work. Ziva got up and poured her and Tony some coffee. "Rise and shine." She leaned in close to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You finally got an American saying correct." Tony smiled and kissed her back and then took the cup of coffee. "Thank you." He sipped it and then set it down on the nightstand.

"So," Ziva wanted to ask him what he wanted to do that day, but she didn't get a chance to.

Tony leaned up and started one of his speeches that he had been preparing lately; the kind of speech that saves a relationship before he can ruin it. "Ziva," he began. "Thank you for letting me stay here, I love being here, and with you and I just want to say that as long as you will let me stay here I really want to. I also want to let you know that I am all yours, no one else's, and I don't ever want us to end. I mean, ever since I got pulled from that casket, it's like I've been given this second chance and the first time I was so sloppy and stupid and I –"

Ziva cut him off with a kiss. She set her coffee cup on the nightstand by his and then straddled his lap. He buried his face in her neck. "I am all yours too." She whispered in his ear.

Tony smiled at her. "How did I get so lucky?" He asked.

"God loves you and so do I." She replied.

"He must." Tony smiled wider and worked his way down from her neck to her shoulder and on down, kissing her until her had covered every inch of her.

"Wow!" Was all Ziva could manage.

"Hmmmm…" Tony wrapped her in his arms and finally they got ready for the day ahead.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Ziva asked.

"Well, we have to see my therapist at noon again and then I don't really care what we do. Did you have a preference?" He asked.

"Maybe a park?" Ziva suggested.

"A park sounds like fun." Tony agreed. "But did we want to do a picnic or a picnic and then a walk or what?" He asked.

"Yes, a picnic and then a walk sound nice." Ziva agreed.

"Good." Tony smiled and they left for the therapy appointment.

They got into their usual positions, Ziva sitting normally and Tony lying with his head in her lap and feet up on the sofa with his shoes off.

"I see you two have gotten comfortable." The therapist said as she came in, sat down, got herself comfortable and began.

"So," she began. "Has anything happened recently to help you find out who the man who kidnapped you was?" She asked Tony.

"I thought about it all last night before bed, and I remembered some details about the man, yes." Tony told her.

"Good." She smiled. "Your making progress. Often, when something traumatic happens to us, we hide the truth in our minds for long amounts of time. You recovered a lot faster than most people, and not to be biased, but based on my studies, you recovered faster than most men ever do. Most of the men I see get depressed easily and stay that way, never wanting to face the reality."

"But I want to face it." Tony told her. "If I don't," he continued. "Then I will always wonder if it will happen to me again, when I least expect it."

"And on your part, that is very smart." She told him. "As a cop, I assume no matter what you are always on guard?" She asked.

Tony nodded a yes.

"But now, after what happened to you, you are on guard 110 percent instead of the usual one hundred percent yes?" She asked.

"Yes, that's right." Tony replied.

"Eventually, you will get over that, but until you do, the meds, Ziva, and life as you are beginning to live it will be the safety blanket you need right now. And slowly, you will begin to do things without needing your meds and without needing Ziva and –"

"No." Tony cut her off there.

"No to what?" She asked.

"No to not needing Ziva." He replied. "I will always need her." He confided. "I mean, she won't have to follow me everywhere forever, but I mean, I don't want to not need her…" He grew thoughtful. "We were apart for four months when we were all reassigned by Vance Jeffries, our new boss. That four months was almost as bad, not as bad, but almost as bad as being in the coffin. Hundreds of men on a boat…" Tony trailed off for a second. "It's a straight man's nightmare!" He shook his head and the therapist laughed as did Ziva.

"What?" Tony asked. "It's true!" Ziva kissed his forehead.

"So you didn't like being reassigned at all?" The therapist asked.

"No, I hated it!" Tony replied.

"It sounds like you hate anything that puts you away from Ziva for long amounts of time." She observed.

"Yes, that would be an accurate statement." Tony replied.

"Then why didn't you act like you wanted to see me when Gibbs and I came to get you off the boat?" Ziva asked.

"Because Gibbs was there and if I acted like that Gibbs would have…You know…Separated us or something." Tony explained.

Ziva looked a little thoughtful and nodded. "Yes, he probably would have." She agreed.

"But I did miss you…Seriously…A lot." Tony stated, thinking back to being on the ship. "I was going to send you an e-mail, but I was afraid of someone seeing it or something…"

Ziva smiled. "No worries…" She told him. "I was in the same boat…not literally…"

They both laughed and the session ended, once again, they would be back the next day at noon. It was interesting how they were beginning to enjoy these sessions.

Tony and Ziva got some subs from a sub shop and headed to the park for their picnic. Ziva had a blanket in the car and they sat on that as they ate. "This is the life." Tony stated and smiled at Ziva.

"Of course it is life." Ziva stated matter of factly.

"No Zee-vah, it's a saying." He told her. "Like…I'm living a good life."

"Oh." She nodded and took a bite of her sandwich. "This is the life." She said, copying him. "Yes, this is the life." She agreed.

When they were done eating, they began to cloud watch. "What does that one look like?" Tony pointed to a big one that was almost castle shaped.

"Like a castle." Ziva told him.

"Oh yeah," Tony smiled and tilted his head toward her to see it better.

"And that one looks like Abby hugging McGee…" Ziva laughed and pointed to a cloud that looked like someone with a ponytail on the side of their head hugging someone with not a lot of hair.

Tony laughed. "I see it! Yeah!"

"This is fun." Ziva stated. "Reminds me of my childhood."

"Yes, it is fun." Tony agreed, brining Ziva's hand to his lips and kissing it. "Let's go for a walk on that trail." He helped her up and they folded the blanket, put it in the car, and walked the trail that they had planned to walk.

"Okay, let's get a little personal." Tony started with Ziva.

"Uh-oh…" Ziva joked. "Okay, but one rule." She stated. "No getting mad. If we are getting personal, you cant get defensive and neither can I. Deal?"

"Deal!" Tony agreed.

"Okay. Ask!" Ziva replied.

"Who was your first kiss and where did it take place?" He asked her.

"Well, I was about fifteen or sixteen, yes, I waited awhile, and my father had told me never to see that boy, that he was trouble. And naturally, I did not listen to my daddy. The boy's name was Amir and he was certainly NOT Jewish, which is why my father told me to have nothing to do with him. We met up by the border of Palestine and Israel, where we usually met up and kissed, and then I didn't see him again until about five years later, when I was shopping in the bazaar. He had a wife and a family. I was happy for him." She told her story.

"Wow." Tony beamed when he looked at her. "Well, my first kiss wasn't nearly that romantic. Her name was Jessica and we went to homecoming together when we were sixteen. We kissed on the dance floor. No, we did not have sex."

"Wow, Tony has restraint!" Ziva teased.

"Well, I can hold myself off of other women, just not you." He wrapped his arms around her. "Your turn to ask me something."

"First time you had sex and who with?" She asked.

"This one is going to shock you." Tony began. "I was actually eighteen and she was twenty. I was in my dorm and she meant to sleep with my roommate and when she saw it was me and not him, she slapped me and it was over."

Ziva laughed very hard at that. "Okay…Mine was in the back of an airplane." She told him. "I was about eighteen too I think…All I could think was 'Dear God please don't let me get pregnant…" I couldn't even really enjoy it. She frowned at the memory.

"My turn." Tony thought of a question to ask her. "How many kids do you want?"

"Two." She replied.

"Just two?" He asked.

"Yes, just two." She replied. "Because I am the one who gets to go through all the pain of pushing the baby out!"

"And you want two and not one?" Tony teased.

"I would be happy with one, but I want two." Ziva replied.

"Yeah, I agree with you on that." Tony smiled and nodded. "Because if you have one, they are lonely, but if you have two, then they have each other."

"Good point." Ziva smiled. "My turn." She thought of a question. "First vacation?" She asked.

"Disneyland when I was ten." He replied. "I went on all the rides."

Tony was smiling at the memory and it made Ziva smile. She wondered what it must have been like growing up in a safe country like America. No roadside bombs, no fear of daddy never coming home again. "My first vacation was to Germany." She told him. "We went all over the place there…I was about twelve. After that, we went to Greece and then Italy and to Egypt. That was my last real trip with my mom."

"At least you have good memories." Tony told her.

"Yeah, you're right about that." She replied.

Tony smiled and they continued walking. "Favorite movie?" He asked.

"Hmmmm…" Ziva pretended to think. "The Godfather." She replied.

"Which one?" He asked.

"All of them." She replied.

"Good answer…Mine is 'Scent of a Woman' with Al Pacino."

"We should watch that one tonight." Ziva suggested.

"Let's stop at my place, get it, and then watch it at yours…With no lights on…" Tony whispered the part about no lights on and Ziva blushed.

"Sounds wonderful." She got excited and they decided they were going to do that nice and early.

Midway through the movie, they started making out and then things got crazy…As they usually did for this crazy in love couple…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Tomorrow: Gibbs has Tony listen to the guy's voice and identify if it is him…Is it?? Also tomorrow, Tony tells Gibbs what he remembered...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Only Way…**

Tony had listened to the voice of the man, and it wasn't the man who had tried to kill him. "Your sure?" Gibbs had asked him many times.

"Positive!" Tony replied. "Besides, did he have the tattoo?" Tony asked.

"No…" Gibbs replied.

"Then it really isn't him. I wonder why the hand print matched him…"

"Because he rents out the warehouse. So, who did this to you?" Gibbs asked Tony.

"I wish I knew." Tony was rubbing his forehead, which was becoming normal for him.

He walked out and met Ziva and they left NCIS headquarters again, because Tony's case was still going on.

They had gone out to eat, Indian food. Tony had made Ziva laugh by drinking lots of water. "Its so spicy!" He shouted as he grabbed the glass of water. Ziva smiled at him and watched as he attempted to eat all of his food.

"I don't know if we will ever find the guy that did this." Tony told Ziva once his food was all gone. "But if I could say one thing to him, it would be 'thank you'. I would thank him for doing that to me to help me see all the things in life I was going to miss by staying a bachelor. I would thank him for helping me see that there is more to life and I should never take it for granted."

Ziva sighed. "And you took it all for granted before?" She asked.

"Way too much." Tony replied. "I took everything for granted and it never got me anywhere. But my eyes are opened because of one crazy day…three crazy hours of being alive underground buried in a coffin."

"Well," Ziva smiled and took his hand in hers. "If you don't see it as something horrible then I won't either."

"Good." Tony nodded and they got up and paid and left.

**TONY'S DREAM:**

_"Nighty night…" The man whispered as he put Tony in the coffin. "Now," he dropped the cell phone in there with Tony. "They will be able to track you." The man smiled devilishly. "And when you really die, I promise to attend your funeral!" He then proceeded to knock Tony out again. _

Tony shot up in bed and looked around. "You okay?" Ziva asked, turning the lamp on by her bed.

"Just a…Me remembering." Tony grabbed the notepad and wrote everything down before he forgot it again. He rolled into Ziva's arms and fell asleep again.

The next day, they told Gibbs about what Tony had written down. "Should we stage his death?" Gibbs asked.

Ziva looked worried at that. "What if something goes wrong?" She asked Gibbs.

"Nothing will go wrong." Gibbs reassured her.

"Well, if it will get this guy to come out of hiding, I don't see what it can hurt."

"But we will all have to pretend like Tony is really gone…" Gibbs told her. "And some of us might have a hard time doing that."

"But I will do it so we catch him." Ziva replied.

"Okay." Gibbs nodded and Ziva agreed to go along with whatever plan they set in motion. The team was informed of what was going to happen.

Abby seemed to be, other than Ziva, the most distressed about it. "Why?" She asked Ziva. "First Jenny and now we have to pretend like Tony…"

"I know…" Ziva nodded and hugged Abby. "We will all get over it though…"

"Even you?" Abby asked, pulling out of the hug to look at Ziva.

"Yes, even me."

"How will Tony handle being without you while he has to play dead?" Abby asked.

"Ha! I have no idea." Ziva replied. They both laughed and smiled at that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had one last night together before Tony had to pretend like he was dead to get this guy to come out of hiding. He had his arms wrapped around Ziva who looked pouty for some reason.

"Marry me." He whispered to her.

"What?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Marry me." He repeated. "I have the wedding rings," he began. "I'm sorry I didn't have time to buy you and engagement ring but…"

She tackled him and kissed him long and hard and sweet.

"Is that a yes?" He asked.

"Yes." Ziva replied.

"Good. I reserved St. Catherine's for midnight tonight." Tony replied.

"So soon?" Ziva questioned.

"Yes…" Tony looked serious. "I really want to marry you…"

"And I really want to marry you, but aren't we rushing it?" She asked.

"No…You're my life." Tony told her. "And without you, I don't know what I would do."

"Then let's go to St. Catherine's." Ziva got up and got ready. She wore the only white dress she had; it was silk and a cream color. It was open back and still fit her nicely. She hadn't worn it in years.

"Wow." Tony looked at her in shock. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You clean up nicely too Tony D."

And they were off to St. Catherine's. They had invited Abby and McGee, who gladly attended. They were too afraid to invite Gibbs.

The ceremony went beautifully. They exchanged rings and then spent one last night together. The next day, someone was going to set everything up so it looked like Tony had been shot and killed. They would then have the funeral and hopefully the guy who had kidnapped Tony would be there.

Tony didn't want to leave Ziva, every inch of him longed to stay right by her at all times, but he too wanted to get this guy and at least ask him why he had wanted NCIS information.

So they agreed that they would continue with the plan…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A Hitch…**

Ziva couldn't stop kissing Tony. "Really, honey, I have to go." She kissed him again and again.

"You cant. Don't…" she pleaded with him.

"I have to…" He kissed her one final time and ran his hand over her arm. "I promise, I will be okay." She made him kiss her again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ziva sat in Gibbs's office with him, watching Tony's every move. Both of them were making sure things went smoothly.

Tony had fake blood in his jacket, and the actor was going to shoot him right where the fake blood was so it looked like he had been killed. NCIS had informed the paramedics of what they were doing and they were on call.

It all went well, until the gun fired an extra shot…

"Oh my God!" Ziva shouted, gulped and stared at the screen. "You said that there would be no hitch!" Ziva was screaming at Gibbs.

"I…I…didn't think…"

"No you didn't! Not before you put my husband in that situation…"

"Husband?" Gibbs stared at Ziva confused.

"We got married last night." Ziva replied.

"Well," Gibbs looked upset. "And I wasn't invited?"

"We were scared you would be mad. Anyway, I am going down there. I want to ride in the ambulance with him." Her heart was racing and she waited for Gibbs to give the go ahead.

Gibbs nodded and she went.

"Tony, are you okay?" She asked. Once the doors of the paramedic van had been closed, Tony nodded. "It only grazed my arm." He winced in a little pain from that, but it didn't look too bad.

"Well, there was a hitch." Ziva rolled her eyes. "Why did Gibbs say it would go off without one?"

"Well, I am alive." Tony replied.

"That's a good thing." Ziva smiled at him and held his hand.

"Remember the last time it was like this?" He asked.

"I do." Ziva smiled. "Last month, when the coffin was opened."

"And I was a changed man." Tony smiled at her.

"Please don't go back to being who you were before that day." Ziva begged.

"And why would I do a stupid thing like that?" He asked.

"I don't know…" Ziva shook her head.

"Well, I am staying the Tony that you have fallen in love with; now and forever." He assured her. "Now, pretend to cry, because we need to stage my death."

Ziva nodded and Tony was wheeled away with a sheet over his head making it look like he was really dead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone waited at the funeral for the man with the tattoo to show up. It was looking like the whole thing had been a bust. But then, he appeared from behind a tree. He was wearing a black wife beater and black pants. Very informal.

Gibbs walked out from his car and grabbed the man. Then he put the cuffs on him.

Tony smiled smugly inside the coffin that was never going to be buried; he had heard the man protesting his arrest. Ziva walked up to the coffin and opened it.

"So, did we get him?" Tony asked Ziva.

"Yes we did." Ziva replied, as Tony climbed out of the coffin.

"And do we both get to keep our jobs?" Tony asked.

"Well, one of us is taking maternity leave…" Ziva leaned in and kissed Tony.

"Really? When? When are you due?" Tony was excited. "Your not messing with me are you?"

"No I am not messing with you…I never ever miss my cycle…And my doctor did a blood test."

"But its so soon…We have only been together for a month." Tony questioned.

"I am sure…" Ziva kissed him again. "Positive."

"Yes!" Tony shouted as he hopped up and down.

Ziva rolled her eyes and smiled. Tony scooped her up and ran around with her, careful not to drop her or anything. "Put me down!" She protested.

"Never!" Tony shouted. And he held her until his arm ached where the bullet had grazed it, and then, they just walked like they usually did; hand in hand…

**FIN**


End file.
